There are an awful of of things you can’t do or show in ads these days – maybe that’s why the outlook sometimes seems a bit dreary – and humour in hospital (as opposed to the ancient “humour in uniform”) ...
Read More »Paul Simons: the ad industry is in danger of sinking under a mountain of meaningless jargon
MAA’s late business partner Paul Simons wrote this nearly five years ago. He was right to ask the question. Today’s answer is, sadly, a resounding yes. I convince myself from time to time that I have lost the plot on ...
Read More »Who are the candidates for our 2020 Person of the Year?
Is it time to do a review of 2020? Well we kind of did that with our multifarious Agencies of the Year and the dust still has to settle on this grimy old year. The end of year break will ...
Read More »MAA blast from the past: wholesome(ish) Heinz Ketchup
Heinz has been making family-friendly ads since well into the last century: sometimes there’s the temptation to twist the formula as far as it will go and then a bit. Here’s a UK effort from 2002 (no idea who did ...
Read More »WPP sets out ambitious plans as it emerges in one piece from bad old 2020
WPP is updating investors and analysts today but the menu gives a pretty clear idea of CEO Mark Read’s plans and expectations. Under Strategic Goals we have: *Return core Communications business to sustainable growth. *Expand further into high-growth areas of ...
Read More »Christianne Wahl of VidMob: why creatives and media planners need to work better together
For too long there has been a disconnect between two major functions in digital advertising – the ad creators and the media planners. Traditionally, the creators cook up a suite of ad creatives, ring the bell for the planning team ...
Read More »Agencies may find they’re eating from a restricted menu as they venture into 2021
Carat UK CEO Jo Sutherland is reportedly “stepping down” as CEO – announced in a memo – and she won’t be the only person seeking new pastures as we venture into this strangest of holiday seasons. The turn of the ...
Read More »MAA’s 2020 holding company of the year, advertiser and – UK creative agency
2020 was a particularly challenging year for the ad holding companies, pre-pandemic already facing challenges from the big consultancies – most notably Accenture, now armed with Droga5 – and the rush to digital and consequent hit on margins. For the ...
Read More »MAA Agencies of the Year 2020: US, international, media, production and a new category for an awful year
It’s been a year like no other most of us can remember (and let’s hope there isn’t another one) so it’s a slightly different MAA Agency of the Year review this year. Tracking the fortunes of international agencies and advertisers ...
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